In 2015, Each U.S. Binge Drinker Consumed About 470 Drinks

TUESDAY, March 20, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. binge drinkers consumed about 470 binge drinks per binge drinker in 2015, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Dafna Kanny, Ph.D., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2015 to estimate the prevalence, frequency, intensity, and total binge drinks among U.S. adults. The number of annual binge-drinking episodes was multiplied by binge-drinking intensity to calculate total annual binge drinks.

The researchers found that 17.1 percent of U.S. adults reported an annual average of 53.1 binge-drinking episodes per binge drinker in 2015. The average intensity was 7.0 drinks per binge episode, resulting in 467.0 binge drinks per binge drinker. Binge drinking was more common among young adults aged 18 to 34 years, but half the total binge drinks were consumed by those age 35 and older. Those with lower educational levels and household incomes had substantially higher total binge drinks per binge drinker compared to those with higher education levels and household incomes.

"U.S. adult binge drinkers consume about 17.5 billion total binge drinks annually, or about 470 binge drinks/binge drinker," the authors write. "Monitoring total binge drinks can help characterize disparities in binge drinking and help plan and evaluate effective prevention strategies."